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Thursday, 27 April 2017

Sisyphus

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He was punished for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeating this action for eternity.

Sisyphus promoted navigation and commerce but was avaricious and deceitful. He also killed travelers and guests, a violation of xenia, which fell under Zeus's domain. He took pleasure in these killings because they allowed him to maintain his iron-fisted rule.

Persephone supervising Sisyphus in the Underworld.

Hades with Cerberus - Pluto Carricci painting

Sisyphus was notorious for his cunning. His greatest triumph came at the end of his life, when the god Hades came to claim him personally for the kingdom of the dead. Hades had brought along a pair of handcuffs, and Sisyphus expressed such an interest that Hades was persuaded to demonstrate their use - on himself.

The lord of the Underworld was kept locked up by Sisyphus, which meant nobody could die.

As a punishment for his trickery against the Gods, King Sisyphus was made to endlessly roll a huge boulder up a steep hill. The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for him due to his belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus. Zeus displayed his own cleverness by enchanting the boulder into rolling away from King Sisyphus before he reached the top which ended up consigning Sisyphus to an eternity of useless efforts and unending frustration.